


Snow Storm

by VenomQuill



Category: Original Work, Watching the World Burn: Corrupted
Genre: F/M, Four baby snow wraiths, because who doesn't love baby dragons, hunting so some animal death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-10
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-29 05:31:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,047
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16257656
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VenomQuill/pseuds/VenomQuill
Summary: Snow wraiths resemble their cousins--the storm wraiths--quite closely. While storm wraiths are native to forests and are a menace from spring to fall, snow wraiths rarely interact with humans or elves as they live deep in the mountains. They will sometimes wander into forested areas if a blizzard happens to pass through. Although shy, they'd never back down from food.





	Snow Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Find this work on dA: http://fav.me/dcp3oku

Although meager sunlight filtered through the icy clouds above, the very air was as still and cold as ice. Frozen droplets gleamed on branches as the late freeze had refrozen the snow that had started to melt. Some animals crept out to eat whatever scarce vegetation there was to eat. Other animals lay in wait, wide eyes concentrated on the fuzzy beings that would amble past.

One beast crouched in a snowbank close to a frozen stream. She tucked her long, slim, feathery limbs beneath her. Her tail, long with three sets of long feathers fanning out from various intervals down her tail, curled around her. She kept her sharp wings folded against her. She looked into the cloudy sky. Sunlight still broke through the clouds. The frosty wind that promised a snowstorm was starting to pick up.

The snow wraith hid her head beneath her wing to let out a foggy breath, careful to make every movement slow and in grace. While her body produced a great amount of heat, her feathers trapped it and insulated her. Not only was she invisible to the passing eye, she gave off no heat signature as to fool those of her own kind with heat seeing abilities. Unfortunately, breathing still gave off heat and movement while on the ground with no high-speed air to nullify it.

Wayward snowflakes drifted from the sky. She perked up, but wisely kept herself down. Like her cousins of the summer–the storm wraith–she could not fly without the currents of a turbulent sky. So, she waited. She waited as the occasional confused snowflake drifting in the wind became a steady snowfall. Eventually, the snowfall grew thicker and heavier and faster.

Snowflakes already tangled in her bushy feathers, she bunched her muscles, spread her wings, and leaped straight up in lieu of a formal take off consisting of the messy flapping of wings. Soon, she was in the clouds, her widespread wings whispering through the clouds as she swirled with grace and play. Snow storms such as this were rare in the early spring. So, it was prudent that she spent every moment she could enjoying the weather.

Then, of course, she remembered her mission. Play was not allowed at the moment; she had no time. She needed food, and plenty of it. She couldn’t do that while summersaulting and swirling in the falling snow. So, she flew lazy circles over the forest, her head dipped and bright blue eyes scanning the ground for movement and heat.

A stag, desperate for food after the long and harsh winter, stripped a tree of bark. Although his ears flicked back to catch any noise, his acute attention and hunger worn body wouldn’t move away from his food. The snow wraith watched the creature eat. The kill would be way too easy. It would be soundless and quick with no struggle. However, there was something else there. Slinking through the snow, eyes wide and paws silent on the icy fluff, was a cougar. The fur on the nape of its neck was still fuzzy and immature. Still, it stalked the stag with the grace of thousands of years of evolution.

There was a pause.

Then, the cat sprang.

The stag let out a loud bleat as the feline dug its claws into his shoulders. Its teeth found his neck. Although the hooved beast attempted to buck, his neck was snapped and it fell. The cat let go. Warm blood bloomed from its wounds, sending the tangy scent of blood into the air. Before it could celebrate its victory with a much-needed meal, a piece of the winter clouds above defected and dipped down.

The snow wraith, diving at a speed too quick for the cat to perceive, grasped the cat in her claws and flew back up. The cat’s cry was cut off as the dragon’s teeth found its neck. She landed. With a quick look around to be sure the stag’s warning cry had scared away anything nearby, the snow wraith let go of the cat and tore into the stag. Despite the hunger of other animals, the winter was usually fruitful for the snow-bound creature. Thankfully, this hunt proved no different.

Once the stag had been reduced to bones and fur, the snow wraith licked herself clean. She picked up the cougar in her forepaws and took off into the clouds. She turned and flew to the frosty mountain in the distance.

Soon, the dragon tipped her wings forward and spread her tail feathers to slow herself. She took the cougar in her mouth and landed on the snow beneath her with wide, splayed paws to keep herself from sinking into the feet deep snow. After a quick glance around, she pinned her wings to her side and walked into a crevasse in the base of a short cliff.

She slipped through a short, winding path so tight that the cold stone pressed down on her sides. Soon, she emerged into a warm cave devoid of snow and ice. She purred as her cool paws felt the warm stone of her home. Although flying in the storm was her favorite thing to do, her second favorite lay right before her. A pair of eyes blinked open and the head of another snow wraith rose up. He cooed and unwound himself from the nest of stone and dirt and dry vegetation he slept on. Immediately, a storm of chirps and cries alerted them both to the waking of their clutch.

Fuzzy little things hardly the size of bobcats with long, dragging tails and featherless wings hobbled out from the warmth of their father. As their mother dropped the cougar, the four little ones swarmed it, biting and clawing uselessly at its thick pelt with rounded claws and tiny teeth. Their father tore a chunk of fur out of its neck and chest. The little ones immediately crawled on top of each other to get to their meal.

The parents cooed and touched their muzzles. Then, the she-dragon lay down in the nest while the male slipped outside.

Eventually, the snow wraith chicks hobbled up to their mother and curled up by her belly. She coiled her tail around them and lay her head to rest.

**Author's Note:**

> Snow wraiths are quite family oriented. While storm wraiths live in nomadic flocks, snow wraiths either fly alone or with their mate, as they mate for life. Clutches often have two to six eggs, but the mortality rate is high and often only two survive to adulthood. Babies have tiny teeth and claws that can cut through softer meat and organs but can't chew through bone and skin. So, until their teeth and claws really grow in, their parents cut into their food.
> 
> Decided to be a bit different this time and write in the perspective of a happy momma snow wraith that has a happy ending! I found that my baby dragon ones ("Mother?" and "Runt of the Litter") have more exposition and emotion. Probably because they're literally children and children have a lot of emotions.
> 
> Snow wraiths belong to me, as well as everything else described here. They also belong to "Watching the World Burn: Corrupted"! An original book that I wrote! :D Check it out on Amazon!


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